Velocipede



April 11, 1939.

A. L. M GREGOR VELOCIPEDE Filed Sept. 11, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 wk JIM r Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFHE r 4 Claims.

' This invention pertains to velocipedes, and more particularly to velocipedes of the type that are steered by the feet and propelled by the arms and hands of the rider. In its preferred form 6 herein disclosed the vehicle is a quadricycle with a pair of steering wheels in front and a pair of wheels at the rear either or both of which have the character of a traction wheel.

Among the objects of the invention have been,

10 to provide a velocipede for childrens use of exceptionally strong, rugged and durable construction, to provide a velocipede having a broad wheel base and low center of gravity practically incapable of overturning in use, and hence safe for very young children, to provide a novel and unique propulsion mechanism adapted to afford a novel exercise of the arm, shoulder, chest and back muscles of the rider, and one that avoids dead centers, to provide a manually propelled vehicle 20 that will constitute a useful exercising machine as well as a carrier, and to provide a vehicle that, by reason of its partial resemblance to the modern stream-linedautomobile, will appeal to the imagination of children.

25 Still other objects and attendant advantages of the invention will be apparent to persons familiar with vehicles of this type from the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which I have illus- 30 trated one approved embodiment of the invention, and wherein- Fig. 1 is a top plan view, with the rear portion of the seat broken off to disclose underlying parts.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in longitudinal 35 vertical section.

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on. the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

40 Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical transverse section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

The body frame or chassis, including the seat, is constructed substantially as follows. lllhdesignates a central straight longitudinal bar, which 45 may be of wood, and l l designates each'of a pair of symmetrical side bars consisting of metal strips bent to substantially the, form shown in Fig. 1 and at their front and rear ends secured to the sides of the front and rear portionsof the bar 10.

50 Attached to the under side of the front end of the central bar It) is an upwardly and rearwardly extending metal strip l2, and attached to the upper side of the rear end of the bar I is an upwardly and forwardly extending metal strip I3.

55 A vertical strut M (Fig. 2) rigidly connects and spaces the upper horizontal portion of the strip i2 and the central bar Ill. Resting upon and bolted to. the upper horizontal portions of the strips I2 and I3 is the wooden seat l5, the side edges of which slightly overlap the widened intermediate portions of the side bars ll as shown in Fig. 1. An inverted U-shaped vertical strut I6 rigidly connects and spaces the seat l5 and the side bars II. To and crosswise of the under side of the forward portion of the seat board 15 is attached a flat metal strip ll serving as a cleat to forestall any possible splitting of the board.

The running gear, which supports the body frame or chassis above described, preferably consists of the following. 18 designates the front axle which consists of a straight rod, and H! are the front or steering wheels journaled on the ends of theaxle l8; Suspended from the axle shaft I8 is a yoke comprising a flat horizontal intermediate portion 20 and a pair of upstanding 20 arms 2! that are pivoted on the axle l8. As best shown in Fig. 5, the forward portion of the main longitudinal bar Hi rests on and crosswise of the yoke member 20 and is connected thereto by a king bolt 22. I have also shown a foot guardmounted on and crosswise of the bar [0 and connected thereto by the king bolt 22, this guard also being in the general form of a yoke and comprising a horizontal portion 23 and apertured upstanding arms 24 through which the axle I8 extends. For steering the device, the driver rests his feet on the portions of the axle between the yoke arms 2| and the opposite sides of the chassis frame, and the arms 24 of this foot guard prevent the feet interfering with the free swiveling movements of the front axle. This foot guard is, of course, not necessary, and may be omitted if desired. To the arms 2! are attached the rear ends of a forwardly projecting bumper bar 25. 25 designates the rear axle on the ends of which are the rear wheels 27 and 21. As best shown in Fig. 3, the wheel 2? is a traction wheel and. is secured fast on the axle by means of an inner hub 28 that is pinned to the axle; while the companion wheel 27' is journaled on the other end of the axle, this mounting of the rear wheels pro viding for the usual differential movement of the wheels when traveling a curved path.

Suspended from the rear axle 2.6 are a pair of hangers 29, the widened lower ends of which are attached to the side frame bars H as by bolts 39. These bolts preferably extend through longitudinal slots 3| in the frame bars H so that the hangers 29 can be adjusted, when required, to take up slack in the driving belt hereinafter described. In the hubs of the hangers 29 are oil holes 32 (Fig. 1).

Encircling the axle 26 between the hub of the wheel 21' and the adjacent hanger 29 is a coil thrust spring 33 that forms an elastic spacer between the hub of the adjacent hanger 29 and the inner end of the hub of wheel 21'. A rear bumper 34 has its side arms attached to the outer sides of the frame bars H by the same bolts 30 which attach the hangers 29 to said frame bars. The rear wheels 2?, 2'! are preferably equipped with wheel guards 35 that are supported at their forward ends by brackets 35 (Figs. 1 and 2) attached to the vertical limbs of the strut l6, and at their top portions by a bent cross bar 31 (Figs. 1 and 3) that is attached centrally to the under side of the rear portion of the seat i5, by a bolt 38 and at its ends is attached to the under sides of the guards 35. A central depending tail piece 39 overlies and conceals the rear frame strip l3, being secured to the latter by screws 40, its upper end portion extending a short distance beneath the rear end of the seat board i5.

Describing next the propulsion mechanism, 4| designates a post or pedestal having an elongated base 42 resting upon and attached by bolts 53 to the main longitudinal bar E0. The upper portion of the post H is transversely apertured to form a bearing for a horizontal shaft M, on one end of which is pinned the hub of a bevel gear as, and on the opposite end of which is pinned a grooved pulley 46. The top of the post M is recessed as shown at 45 in Fig. 4 to receive the lower end of a vertical drive shaft t! that extends upwardly through a hole in the forward frame strip l2, a registering hole in the seat board l5, and a bearing block 48 mounted on the top of the seat board. The lower portion of the shaft l also extends through the intersecting horizontal portions of two brackets t9 and Eli disposed at right angles to each other, the bracket 49 being mounted on the central bar Ill and the bracket 50 being attached at its lower end to one of the side frame strips H (Fig. 4). Secured to the top limb of the bracket 49 is a bearing block 5| for the shaft 41. Pinned to the lower portion of shaft ll beneath the bracket fit is the hub of a bevel gear 52 that meshes with and drives the bevel gear 45. Fast on the rear axle 26 is a grooved pulley 53 that is connected by a i-belt 54 with the pulley d5. Pinned to or otherwise secured to the upper end of the shaft 3? is a shaft extension 55, fast on the upper end of which is a crank arm 55. On the free end of the crank arm 55 is an upstanding pin 51 on which is centrally pivoted a handle bar 58 preferably of the rams horn shapeshown in Fig. i, and swiveled on the two ends of the handle bar 58 are the handle pieces 59.

To conceal the forward portion of the propel ling mechanism, I preferably employ a V-shaped shield or guard, the apex 5% of which is attached to the vertical strut l4, while the two side wings 6| are attached to vertical brackets 32 upstanding from the side bars ll. This device not only conceals a portion of the propelling mechanism, but it also functions as a stream-lined prow to split the wind and also as a guard to prevent the trouser legs or skirt of the rider from being caught in the gears. This front shield or guard, together with the rear wheel guards 35, the front and rear bumpers 25 and 34 and the depending tail guard 39 to a certain extent simulate corresponding features of the modern high speed automobile, and to that extent appeal to the imagination. of children who are quite as keen to be modern and up to date in their riding equipment as their elders.

The mode of propelling the device is doubtless obvious from the foregoing description of its structural features. The child seats himself on the seat board l5 with his feet on the axle l8 (or, if his legs are too long, on the bumper bar 25), grasps the handles 59, and rotates the latter bodily in a circular clockwise direction viewing Fig. 1 around the axis of the drive shaft. This, through the bevel gear and belt and pulley transmission described, imparts a forward drive to the vehicle. The continuous circular movement of the operating handle calls forth a novel, unique and unusual exercise of the arm, shoulder and chest muscles, so that the device constitutes a useful exercising machine as well as a toy vehicle; and a distinct advantage of the propulsion mechanism lies in the fact that it obviously avoids dead centers.

Obviously, minor changes in the structural details of the device may be resorted to within the spirit and purview of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a velocipede of the type described, the combination with a chassis frame, front and rear supporting wheels, a rear axle journaled in said frame fast with at least one of the rear wheels, and a drivers seat mounted on said frame, of a vertical shaft journaled in a bearing on said frame, transmission mechanism from said shaft to said rear axle, a horizontal crank arm fast on the upper end of said shaft, and a handle bar pivoted on said crank arm.

2. In a velocipede of the type described, the combination with a chassis frame, front and rear supporting wheels, a rear axle journaled in said frame fast with at least one of the rear wheels, and a drivers seat mounted on said frame, of a vertical shaft journaled in a bearing on said frame and extending through the front portion of said seat, a bearing on said seat for said shaft, transmission mechanism from said shaft to said rear axle, a crank arm fast on the upper end of said shaft, a horizontal handle bar centrally pivoted on the free end of said crank arm, and upstanding handles on the ends of said handle bar.

3. Propulsion mechanism for a velocipede having a rear axle and traction wheels on the ends of said axle, comprising a horizontal handle bar having vertical handles on its ends adapted to be grasped by the rider and bodily movable in a circular path in a horizontal plane, and dead-centerless transmission mechanism actuated by said handle bar extending from the longitudinal center of the latter to said rear axle.

4. Propulsion mechanism for a velocipede having a rear axle and traction wheels on the ends of said axle, comprising a rotatable vertical shaft having a crank arm on its upper end, a horizontal handle bar pivoted at its longitudinal center on the free end of said crank arm, vertical handles on the ends of said handle bar, and transmission mechanism extending from said vertical shaft to said rear axle.

ALLAN L. MCGREGOR. 

